Young Ōgai Mori and the reading of Goethe and Schiller

－In connection with ‘Die Erkenntnis der Freiheit und Schönheit’

Abstract

　In München, Ōgai Mori (1862-1911) in his young days stated in “Die Wahrheit über Japan” against Naumann’s “Land und Leute der japanischen Inselkette” that ‘Besteht die wahre europaische Kultur nicht in der Erkenntnis der Freiheit und Schönheit im reinsten Sinn des Wortes ?’ Such recognition as these may have something to do with the life of his own in Germany, but the close observation of his reading experience of Goethe and Schiller, both of whose works were his favorites in his young days, seems to make these situations clearer. His campaign for enlightenment after his returning home seems to have the deep relationship with this recognition as ‘Die Erkenntnis der Freiheit und Schönheit.’

　This paper is concerned with how the Western world was reflected in his mind through the reading of these two great German writers, not how he was influenced by them. This study also will be one of the important steps to make Ōgai’s consciousness of the Western civilization clear.